The Miami Dolphins lost two solid, but aging starters in the secondary. Fortunately for the defense they replaced Andre' Goodman and Renaldo Hill with an even better safety, a veteran starting cornerback, and two of the 2009 draft's top cornerback prospects.

From where I sit (which is usually above the practice field, and in the press box), that's like Supersizing a value meal at McDonalds.

Beefing up the secondary was the biggest investment this regime made this offseason, and the success of that unit will likely indicate how good Bill Parcells and crew are at talent evaluation.

Has Gibril Wilson lost some of the luster he had during his tenure with the Giants (few players blossom in Oakland these days), and is he suited to play free safety. Will his partnership with Yeremiah Bell, who was retained as a free agent, blossom in it's first season?

Can Vontae Davis or Sean Smith (maybe both) develop into one of the AFC's top cornerbacks? Will either be a good matchup for Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, two of the NFL's most dominant receivers, who are expected to terrorize the AFC East.

THE SECONDARY

THE OLD: CB Andre' Goodman (signed with Denver as a free agent), FS Renaldo Hill (signed with Denver as a free agent), CB Michael Lehan (cut before season concluded), CB Scorpio Babers (cut at end of minicamp).

THE BREAKDOWN: There's finally decent depth in the Dolphins' back end of the defense, and it appears to be a big, strong, physical group of cornerbacks and safeties. Davis and Smith will likely battle it out for the starting spot opposite Will Allen. But even if they aren't ready the Dolphins have a decent option in Green. Remember, Goodman was once a Lions castoff who rebuilt his reputation as a Dolphin. The same can happen for this South Floridian.

The biggest benefit this new found depth brings impacts the safeties, which are critical to the success of the 3-4 scheme because of the multiple roles they play. Replacing Hill with Wilson not only gives the Dolphins a safety with ball skills (13 interceptions in five seasons), but one that's a tad more aggressive. Expect to see more blitzes from the safety spot. There is also plenty of buzz circulating about the improvement Culver had shown this offseason, and how talented Clemons appears to be despite his late-round selection. From the looks of things, the defense might be just fine if one, or both of the starting safeties suffers a critical injury.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Major progression. Doubling down on the back end of the defense appears to be a wise investment. Not only does the team have enough depth to survive a couple of serious injuries, but they also have young players like Davis, Smith, Culver and Clemons the coaching staff truly wants to develop with an eye on the future. If things play out as planned the Dolphins might not have to address it's secondary for at least a couple of years. We'll know how good this unit is based on the passing yards (228 yards per game last season, 6.6 yards per pass attempt) allowed in 2009, and how many interceptions this group (14 from last year's secondary) pulls in.

Is there anything that's lacking from this new look secondary? Where should the Dolphins expect (or hope for) the most improvement?

we have a lot of depth with the signing Eric Green from Arizona. But we also knew our division got a little bit better with Terrell Owens going to Buffalo and, of course, Randy Moss already in New England. In order to play against those type of big receivers, you’ve got to have big corners. we needed to have two corners with that kind of size and speed! who do the jet’s have to combat the likes of t.o and moss 5′8″ leonsoft the (paperboy) he was 2nd string on balt! started due to an injury! smith blow’s! their 29th ranked pass defense got worse with the loss of BIG PLAY ELAM!!!!!!!

This was our Achilles’ heel last year (the secondary) and I see nothing but PROGRESSION. With any, ANY kind of luck, we just drafted the next Surtain/Madison combo in Vontae/Sean Smith. Adding Gibril Wilson to the mix is an infinitesimal upgrade over Renaldo Hill. Every time we gave up a “homer”, right there was Renaldo Hill not making the play.
Factor in the blitzing our LBs (JP, JT, and CW) will be doing, and this secondary is going to have a STRONG showing this year. Just mind the rookie learning-curve and “gel” time for this unit to become formidable.

Assessment on Eric Green
Everything I`ve heard read researched on Eric Green was not too good
Green was beat and toasted often giving up the long ball
ocala rob google Eric Green and read what his own former teammates say about him
Green played poorly then got injured and then was replaced by coach
Green watched SuperBowl from sidelines while healthy
Green will never be able to cover ProBowl WRs coming at Dolphins almost every week
At the time
prior to the draft
green was a desperation signing( Pats signed Sean Springs)
Now with the emergence of Sean Smith and Vonte Davis
what do we do with Green after signing him for too much money?
answer:
Not personal just Business
Package him up and trade him

2010 they said the same about goodman in detroit! maybe he didnt fit in ariz or maybe he’s just a bust and therefore wont make the team they will field the best 11 on D!like marinofan said our tremendous pass rush off the edges will help these corner’s!! i’m sure we will have a solid secondary the trio will not settle for less!!!

marinofan 13
Only thing is that we are in fact facing the gun slinging best QBs and complimentary ProBowl wide receivers game after game this season
These QBs are deadly accurate passers
This “rookie CB learning curve” could prove to be be painful but that is the way it goes
Penny is just gonna have to have his team average AT LEAST 30 points per game
Also think Ronnie pounding the rock will eat up a lot of time of possession for the Dolphins
With all the Wildcat hype think Sparano will be playing clock eating smash mouth football like back in the Czonka days
Why?
Because he can
This too will be a new Dolphin look for defensive coordinators

Personally I thought Goodman sucked until a third of the way into the season when secondary coach BOWLES did an amazing job coaching Goody up
NFL circles say coach Bowles may soon earn a job as head coach
Goodys Turnaround was amazing but in all fairness he had some gift wrapped Christmas presents and Favre wounded duck throws fall in his breadbasket
A ten year old kid could have caught these INTs
Look forward to watching Goody go back to his old ways soon and he is 34
Applaud move by Trifecta to replace Goody with top new rooks

Ocala Rob is worried about our cornerback? WE have a young stud prowbowler named Revis. Who needs elam? I here Gholstons has improved tremendously under the gravitational force of Tyrantasauraus Rex Ryan.Burp!
Sanchez is better than Ryan or Flacco check the #’s. Forget about coles, cotchery caught more passes against your secondary. Farve throws a loafer and none of your pathetic corners bothers to turn around and look for the ball. Typical losers! JETSSSSS!!!! Got it all baby! and yoos got a secondary,with castoffs and rookies. Questionable DL and old fart at nose. a candian, a buncha rugby players and a tortmented taylor who hasn’t seen a sack since his grandmother DIED! An offensive line from MASH! It’s just Awful! Go JETS!!!!!!

I think the addition of the taller bigger db’s will improve the red zone defense. We got burned in the red zone by tall receivers many times last year. I used word so I hope I did it right and the spelling/grammar is ok.

are you still hiding out 2010 waited for you at the 5th st gym! he couldnt find you but i heard he kicked a couple of puke green butts there!! revis cant cover turner its like iverson covering alonzo morning in the post lmfao no match up!!

Sanchez is better than Ryan or Flacco
REPLY
lmfao!!!!!!rofl!!!!!!!!lmfao!!!!!!!! jet fuel is effecting your brain!! those are 2 playoff qb’s ryan has never thrown an nfl pass how do you match that up!!!!!!!!!!

Hey ‘homerbowl 2010′ you are optimistic, but a dreamer. I’ve been sitting second row at Joe Robbie Stadium since ‘87, and I am a REALIST. They were lucky to win 11 last season, and will be 6-10 or 8-8 at best this year. Deal with it!!! It will take at LEAST until 2011 to win the Big One… Finally, ‘Chowder’ is a Punk Thug wanna-be sub-par LB. They will be at best 3-5 at mid-season. Deal with it!!!

Gentlemen, only injuries and the rookie learning curve can derail us from being a “wild-card” team this year. Over the course of last season, I gained a PROFOUND respect for Mr. Pennington (who I used to call “Noodle-Arm”). If he stays healthy (contingent on the O-line), we will be in it offensively for each and every game. This cat is going to be a QB coach some day… bet.
Getting back to the secondary… WE HAVE BRUSERS. First receiver to get tattooed by either Bell, Wilson, Vontae, Smith, etc will not be willing to go all out for the ball next time around… if they are even conscious. Gentlemen, welcome to SMASHMOUTH football G2V10. We are bigger, stronger, and faster.
You hear me, Home Super Bowl 2010? This is G(eneration)2(000)V(ersion)’10. Pass it on: G2V10… G2V10… G2V10… G2V10… G2V10
GO PHINS!!!

No comprende ocala rob
What is the 5st gym and who is waiting for me?
reply;
sorry 2010 it was an inside joke with your buddy jet fan! i think he said a while back for you to meet him at the 5th st gym! when you were mad at him! and i was teasing him saying you showed up and he wasnt there! and that you beat up all his slimy puke green buddies that hang out there
remember you told me this!!

Goodell corrupt?
Goodell takes Vick right from prison to Patriots camp?
Goodell says Dolphins might have snagged Pat White early preventing his team the New England Patriots from signing him but “Dont worry Bill I can fix that”
Bellicheat still fuming from biggest embarrassment of his career The Dolphins Wildcat
Who is investigating this corruption?

Pace will be back in time to make you losers 0-5 lmfao!
I was refering to Sanchez’s college carreer vs ryan and flacco. Flacco of course played some scrubs in college then again he played you losers twice and beat the pants off you twice! Now that’s embarrassing, burp!
Ryan and Atlanta would’ve beat you also. Just goes to show how much “hot air” was in that balloon team you losers think was “good” last year. I’ll be down at the fifth street gym during the week of the game if any of yoos buds wanna drop by,please bring sean. aaaaaaaaaaaaaght!

we have better DBs than last yr and will have better pass D #s this yr. Can not wait intil we play the jets this yr, rook QB is going to throw it up for grabs like Favre did last yr and we are going to go up and get it this time. GQSanchez(5yr 50 mill and 28 mill guarn) WOW for a guy who has not proved him self yet is going to have a rough yr and will lose badly to the phins in the 1st game and be benched for the 2nd (the coach will not want him to take a beating like in the 1st game) LOL.

In this pass happy league and with some guys in the secondary that can hit and tackle like LB’s I can see a lot of 5 back formations. Bell, J Allen, and Sean Smith are almost as big as linebackers, and Wilson is not small either.

OMAR KELLY was unsuccessful at achieving his childhood dream to become a super hero, so he figured he'd do the next best thing and become a journalist who fights against injustice, and searches for truth. After being bored to death reporting news and covering politics, he switched to sports.
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IZZY GOULD joined the Sun Sentinel in Feb. 2012 as a Senior Sports Reporter on the Miami Dolphins beat. He came to South Florida fresh off covering the University of Alabama football program, including its 2011 national championship team. More